Hallyu North was the first of the K-Pop convention that came through Toronto in May.
And it was … different. I’m not really sure what I expected, I know that I didn’t go in with too much expectation because I’ve never been to a K-Pop convention before. It was much, much smaller than I had anticipated.
I purchased just a general admission ticket (so no concert seat), and as I arrived they were getting the lines ready for the concert entry. So. Many. People. I definitely felt like a fish going upstream to get to the main building to enter the convention.
It was kind of funny too, since next door there was a Marlies game going as well (OHL Hockey game) and as I was waiting in line I saw the Toronto Maple Leafs GM walk through this gaggle of girls screaming for SHINee. It was a little odd, to say the least. Such a contrast of older white men for the hockey game and the Asian girls for the convention.
Due to the fact that everyone was streaming outside for the concert to start, it meant that the convention portion was empty. I did a brief quick walk around of the booths, and there weren’t that many of them. A couple booths had already started packing up, and it was only just after 6pm! There were quite a lot of booths selling music, and stuffed animals and stuff like that. Posters, of course, and collectible memorabilia. Nothing really that I needed. One of the sponsors was The Face Shop and they were doing makeovers, and were quite good. But they weren’t really selling product, and they definitely didn’t have a lot of product showcased. Dramafever had a dress up booth, which was neat, and then came the vendor booths.
There were some stand-out booths to mention, a couple jewelry ones (one that I’m loving her stuff and definitely need to purchase something stat). Other booths didn’t really hold quite so much interest to me, and I kind of wish that it was bigger. Then the concert started, and I was actually able to watch most of it and listen to all of it. So I’m glad that I didn’t have to pay for a pricier ticket. I doubt that should have happened, but it did and woot. I scored. Pretty much all the vendors just stood off to the side at the back and watched the concert. Security finally shooed us away about ¾’s of the way through.
Once the concert was done though, everyone packed up and left and it was over much quicker than I thought. I chatted with some of the booth vendors, and got some new bands to listen to, but it wasn’t the crush of people that I expected. And most people bought concert tickets.
The concert itself was good, although much shorter and smaller than I expected, considering where it was being held. Overall, it was alright. Would I go back next year? I’m not sure. I’m glad that I didn’t spend more money on it, as I expected there to be more food and more culture and just.. more. There were 2 food trucks, and under 20 booths. The only way I’d go back next year is if the concert portion is someone I’m dying to see.
It’d be interesting to see the difference between the 2 conventions, but I didn’t go to the 2nd one. I wasn’t technically in town (although I was) and didn’t really want to spend the money (it was a little pricier) on it. Definitely will keep it in mind for next year though!
Did you go to it? What were your thoughts?
